To date, Wizards of the Coast has created almost 300 unique creature types. From Advisors to Zubera, MTG is loaded with fun and flavorful creature types. From the way things have been going recently, players will only be getting even more options to play with soon.
Beyond providing flavor to a world and the basis for a Typal deck, creature types are fundamentally important to MTG. With many mechanics supporting and exclusive to specific creature types, this background detail isn’t to be dismissed. Due to this, it can be big news when a new MTG creature type gets created, or another erased from existence.
Sadly, while MTG has been getting more unique and interesting creature types recently, the latter has been happening too. Recently, players have seen multiple classic creature types be forever changed and errata-ed out of existence. As if Viashino going away wasn’t bad enough, now it seems another classic MTG creature type is on the chopping block.
The End of Efreet
First seen in Arabian Nights, Efreet have been around in MTG since 1993. Despite being over 30 years old at this point, this creature type is surprisingly rarely seen. Throughout their long existence, Wizards has only printed 28 Efreet. While these few cards have been reprinted occasionally, you’d be excused for not knowing Efreet exist in MTG.
Regardless of how much you know about Efreet, it seems you won’t have to worry about them for much longer. According to MTG’s Lead Designer, Mark Rosewater, this classic creature type is being phased out. This was recently revealed following a flavorful ask from Randomette2 on Blogatog.
Nitpicking some flavor text in Modern Horizons 3, Randomette2 noted how Pinnacle Monk is more Efreet than Djinn. This led them to ask if “Djinns and Efreets [are] being fused into a single creature type?” Responding to this Rosewater revealed that “We’re no longer going to be using Efreet.”
Instead of utilizing Efreet, Rosewater states that Wizards will instead be using Djinn’s going forward. Hopefully, this shouldn’t be too dramatic of a change, especially since some Efreet are basically indistinguishable from Djinn. Just look at Cheatyface and Soulblade Djinn for an example of this.
While Rosewater has confirmed that Efreet is being phased out and replaced, it’s unclear what will happen to the existing cards. Potentially, Wizards could errata all Efreet into Djinn, but there has been no confirmation of this just yet. That being said, given the expected reasons behind this change, there’s definitely a real possibility an errata is imminent.
Why Wizards Why?
Sadly, Rosewater did not explain exactly why Wizards of the Coast was retiring Efreet in their short statement. That being said, there is an obvious and likely explanation, even if it’s not been confirmed outright. As noted by Lookingupanddown, “Efreet are from Islamic mythology,” which makes them a bit of a grey area for Wizards of the Coast.
Technically, Djinn falls into the same category, as Jinn have been part of Islamic mythology for over two thousand years. Despite this, Djinn has undeniably become the more colloquial word that’s used in countless games and fantasy stories. Ultimately, the removal of Efreet could be due to the updated cultural guidelines MTG currently uses.
While Wizards has not outright confirmed this is the reason, their cultural guidelines have facilitated change before. Most recently, this happened to Rakshasa, which received a major change in December of 2023. When announcing this change, Wizards explained their aim was “to make our game as inclusive and welcoming as possible.”
Just as Rakshasa are based in Hindu mythology, Efreet are based in Islamic Mythology. Due to this, it stands to reason that Efreet should be hit with an errata soon just as Rakshasa were. Like the errata to Rakshasa, if this is to happen it will likely need to be prompted by reprints. For better or worse, there’s no telling when, or if, any of the existing Efreet cards will be reprinted.
As much as an errata may be advised to make MTG more culturally appropriate it’s not too mechanically relevant. Currently, no Efreet or Djinn cards that care about or buff their specific creature type. That said, there are plenty of cards that let you choose a creature type, such as Urza’s Incubator. Due to this, consolidating Efreet and Djinn seems like a no-brainer decision.
Change for the Better
At the end of the day, it’s probably a good idea that Wizards of the Coast errata Efreet out of existence. Not only is it clearly considered a faux pas, but having more Djinn is no bad thing. While there may not be any specific Djinn Typal support right now, it may only be a matter of time before some is made.
Ultimately, while it may seem sensible, there’s no guarantee Wizards will errata Efreet anytime soon, if ever. Despite similarly being phased out of existence by Lizards, Wizards is yet to errata Viashino. With this in mind, it’s entirely possible that Efreet will simply linger as a feature within the long and storied history of MTG.
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